VICTORY! Officials Order Miami Seaquarium to Close Down Forever
Miami-Dade County officials have ordered the infamous Miami Seaquarium, where the orca Lolita died, to close down and vacate the premises
Los Angeles, March 26th, 2024 — It’s a victory for animal lovers that’s been decades in the making. After innumerable protests, complaints and exposés, Miami-Dade County officials have finally issued a Notice of Termination and Notice of Default to Miami Seaquarium’s owner, giving the company until April 21st, 2024 to vacate the premises. Seaquarium’s critics are rejoicing over the impending demise of what they call a hellhole for animals.
In February of 2024, county officials announced that they were moving to revoke the lease of the Miami Seaquarium, which has been at the center of many animal welfare complaints. Just before that decision, the owners of the Seaquarium received a Notice of Intent to Confiscate from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding four marine mammals housed there — marking the first time, in 30 years, that the agency has taken such an action. Now, finally, after years of campaigning by animal rights organizations, Jimmy Morales, the chief operating officer of the Miami-Dade Commission, has sent the aquarium the eviction notice campaigners were waiting for.
Victory Came Too Late for Lolita
Tragically, the news came too late for the most famous prisoner of Miami Seaquarium: Lolita. On August 18th, 2023, Tokitae the orca (aka Lolita) died due to a suspected renal condition in the world’s smallest orca tank at the Miami Seaquarium. She had spent more than half a century in captivity. In the process, Lolita became the face of the movement to end an industry that uses sea animals for entertainment in what protesters have termed “abusement parks.” Lolita had been captured with six other orcas in 1970 in the waters off Penn Cove, near Washington State’s coast, and spent the rest of her life in captivity in small tanks, being forced to perform tricks to entertain aquarium visitors.
Historic Win for PETA
The organization that has campaigned the longest and loudest to close this aquarium is People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Their campaign included more than 150,000 calls and e-mails from its supporters, lawsuits, celebrity ads, letters to and meetings with county officials, and lively rallies. UnchainedTV’s Jane Velez-Mitchell, who spoke at one such protest in 2015, interviewed PETA’s Amanda Brody about this historic victory. You can watch the entire conversation here:
A Milestone in Anti-Captivity Campaigning
Amanda Brody is an assistant manager and senior campaigner for PETA. She’s been the driving force behind many of the group’s head-turning demonstrations. This has included leading costumed “dolphins” in protest against the Miami Seaquarium, taking on animal experimenters with a 40-foot inflatable spider, serving veggie dogs on Capitol Hill, and participating in a sit-in at a grocery store to help end the use of captive monkeys forced to pick coconuts in Thailand. This is what she said about this latest news:
“This is huge news. It’s a historic move in the animal rights movement, and PETA is just so happy that Miami-Dade County is finally terminating the Miami Seaquarium’s lease after more than half of a century of miserable animals and false promises to clean up its act. For years, PETA and local activists worked tirelessly to help Lolita and other animals suffering terribly at the Miami Seaquarium through relentless campaigns, which included lawsuits on behalf of Lolita, celebrity ad campaigns, and of course, many protests.”
PETA reports that the conditions for animals trapped in this aquarium were abysmal, which led to many complaints and investigations over the years. Brody explains:
“It was so bad. I mean, the Miami Seaquarium just continued to prove itself either unwilling or unable to comply with even the minimum standards of the federal Animal Welfare Act, which was putting it in violation of its lease with Miami-Dade County. And these citations just kept racking up with the USDA. One of the things we found was a dolphin with a 2-inch nail stuck in his throat. Another dolphin was kicked in the mouth during an interaction with a guest. These animals were denied proper veterinary care and we even found earlier that dolphins were starved in order to force them to perform tricks for food.”
“We know that no veterinarian can fix the systematic issues that are occurring at this facility, which is basically a dump.” — Amanda Brody, PETA
What Will Happen to the Animals Now?
The key question now is this: What will happen to the hundreds of animals still kept on the premises? Efforts are underway to line up sanctuaries to take the animals. PETA is urging officials not to send them to other aquariums or zoos where they will continue to be exploited and not to reopen the aquarium by transferring the lease to another company. Brody put it this way:
“PETA is urging the county to act swiftly to ensure that these animals are sent to reputable facilities where they can get the care that they desperately need. PETA stands ready to assist them in ensuring that these animals don’t go to similar or even worse environments”
In December of 2023, Romeo and Juliet, two manatees who had been kept in captivity in small tanks at the aquarium since 1956, were moved to ZooTampa after animal rights organizations protested about the conditions in which they were kept. A third manatee, an adult female named Clarity, was also moved to SeaWorld in Orlando after living at Miami Seaquarium since 2009. Brody expressed her fervent hope that authorities will not move more animals to SeaWorld, which is another marine park PETA wants to see either close or switch to a non-animal model of entertainment.
“As Lolita tragically passed away in the world’s smallest orca tank, and now Miami Seaquarium closing its doors, all eyes are on SeaWorld to do what is right, especially for Corky, who is one of the saddest and loneliest orcas. She has been in captivity for more than 54 years, similar to Lolita, as she was abducted from her ocean home, forced to live in tiny tanks and perform tricks for her entire life. So, we want to make sure that people are looking to SeaWorld and urging them to send Corky to a seaside sanctuary.”
We invite Miami Seaquarium, SeaWorld, and anyone else involved in this story to comment at any time.
“We are asking everyone to honor Lolita’s memory by never buying a ticket to a marine park that imprisons animals.” — Amanda Brody, PETA
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